1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to implements for lifting furniture. More particularly, the invention relates to a wheeled jack for lifting heavy articles of furniture, such as sofas, to permit cleaning the area underneath the article.
2. Description of Background Art
Thorough cleaning of rooms in individual residences, hotels, offices and the like often includes vacuum cleaning of the floors, especially if the rooms contain rugs.
Vacuum cleaning provides an effective means of removing dust, dirt, pollen and other foreign substances which are at the very least, unsightly, and which oftentimes pose a health hazard to occupants of the room.
If a room to be vacuum cleaned contains furniture, it is necessary to insert the vacuum cleaner head under the furniture, or move the furniture out of the way, to gain access to the floor beneath the article of furniture.
When a room to be vacuum cleaned contains one or more heavy articles of furniture, such as a sofa, gaining access to the floor beneath the article can be difficult. Access may be facilitated by providing wheels or coasters attached to the underside of the sofa frame. However, not all sofas or heavy furniture are equipped with wheels. Also, the layout of some rooms does not permit easy relocation of furniture during cleaning, even if the furniture were equipped with wheels. Additionally, movement of heavy furniture, whether or not equipped with wheels, is sometimes troublesome for smaller women and men. The present invention was conceived of to provide a device which may be used by a person, even of limited strength, to conveniently lift heavy furniture such as sofas, to facilitate cleaning the area underneath the furniture.
Prior art references which relate generally to the field of the present invention and which are known to the present inventor include the following U.S. patents:
Chenette, U.S. Pat. No. 2,274,918, Mar. 3, 1942, Lifting And Portable Moving Iron; PA1 Blackwelder, U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,181, Apr. 23, 1974, Lifting Device; PA1 Lee, U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,261, May 7, 1974, Moving System; PA1 Schaefer, U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,054, Mar. 18, 1975, Dolly and Method of Using It To Hand A Door; PA1 Herrmann, U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,338, Manhole Cover Lifter.
The present invention was conceived of to provide a wheeled furniture jack of improved design which is specifically adapted to provide ready access to areas underneath heavy articles of furniture, to facilitate cleaning those areas.